Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus lung infection in coronavirus disease 2019: how common?

Abstract

Purpose of review Some patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may develop pulmonary bacterial coinfection or superinfection, that could unfavorably impact their prognosis. Recent findings The exact burden of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA) lung infection in peculiar populations such as patients with COVID-19 remains somewhat elusive, possibly because of wide heterogeneity in methods and endpoints across studies. Summary There was important heterogeneity in the retrieved literature on the epidemiology of MRSA lung infection in patients with COVID-19, both when considering all other bacteria as the denominator (relative prevalence ranging from 2% to 29%) and when considering only S. aureus as the denominator (relative prevalence ranging from 11% to 65%). Overall, MRSA is among the most frequent causative agents of pulmonary infection in patients with COVID-19. Improving our ability to rapidly reach etiological diagnosis of bacterial lung infection in COVID-19 patients remains fundamental if we are to improve the rates of appropriate antibiotic therapy in patients with COVID-19 and concomitant/superimposed MRSA infection, at the same time avoiding antibiotic overuse in line with antimicrobial stewardship principles.

Antibiotic resistance patterns of methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from blood cultures at a university hospital in Turkey

“…Recent studies show that there is an increase in MRCoNS infections with rising COVID-19. MRSA is among the most frequent causative agents of pulmonary infection in patients with COVID-19 (Chandran et al, 2021;Bassetti et al, 2022). This might be due to immune compromisation, immune-related pathways and gene dysregulation in COVID-19 patients (Türk et al, 2020;Malkan et al, 2021;Türk et al, 2021).…”

Infecções por Staphylococcus spp. concorrentes à COVID-19: uma revisão de literatura

“…Os pesquisadores Bassetti et al (2022) realizaram uma ampla revisão de literatura sobre infecções por Staphylococcus aureus resistentes à meticilina em pacientes com COVID-19. A epidemiologia da infecção pulmonar por Staphylococcus aureus em pacientes com COVID-19 apresentou grande heterogeneidade nos diversos estudos realizados pelo mundo, variando de 2% a 29% do total de bactérias em infecção simultânea à COVID-19, e MRSA representou 11% a 75% das cepas de Staphylococcus aureus.…”

Epidemiology of Gram-negative bacteria during coronavirus disease 2019. What is the real pandemic?

“…Concurrent bacterial and fungal infections have played an important role in hospital outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic [7]. Recently, Bassetti et al [8 ▪▪ ], provided a global overview of the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus in this population. Equally important, should be an assessment of the potential collateral damage caused by COVID-19 and its impact on the epidemiology of GNB, and resistance, which is pivotal to mitigate future consequences [9,10]…”